


like glitter and gold

by Fives (janfives90)



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, academy au, except fake, futuristic AU, warnings: knives and violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22701865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janfives90/pseuds/Fives
Summary: Emma Nolan winces as the racer in front of her veers hard off the track, a laser-tipped spear embedded in his chest, then ducks as a second spear almost hits her in the head. She sits up a bit straighter on her bike, lifting her faceplate and giving a hard stare ahead.Alyssa Greene lifts her own helmet’s visor and gives her a small, apologetic shrug before returning her focus to the race.
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 66





	1. Part One

Emma Nolan winces as the racer in front of her veers hard off the track, a laser-tipped spear embedded in his chest, then ducks as a second spear almost hits her in the head. She sits up a bit straighter on her bike, lifting her faceplate and giving a hard stare ahead.

Alyssa Greene lifts her own helmet’s visor and gives her a small, apologetic shrug before returning her focus to the race.

_ “You missed, Greene!” _ a voice yells from the stands.  _ “Show the new kid how we do things around here!” _

Irritated, Emma presses her motorcycle faster until she comes up alongside Alyssa. She lashes out, laying a solid kick to Alyssa’s back tire.

Alyssa wavers but manages to pull herself back before she hits the boundary wall. “Is that how we’re playing this?” she yells over the noise.

“I guess it is!”

“Don’t cry to me later, Nolan!”

Alyssa opens the sheath on the front of her bike and pulls out one of her swords, the edge already blazing with bright red energy. She swipes at Emma’s shoulder, and Emma just barely maneuvers out of the way.

Emma pops one of the charges off of her steering bar and activates it before throwing it in front of Alyssa’s bike. She skids, almost to a stop, just in time to avoid the explosion.

The hard movement puts her behind Emma, who looks over her shoulder.

She doesn’t lift her visor, but she knows that Alyssa can tell she’s smirking anyway.

She has to look forward to take a turn as Alyssa reaches down towards her boot, and Emma adjusts her speed to try to get further ahead. As she gets back to a straighter route, Emma glances behind again.

Just in time for Alyssa’s last spear to make contact with the center of her chest.

* * *

Emma opens her eyes to Alyssa standing over her, smirking. “I guess you’re not as bad at that as you thought, Nolan.”

She groans and gets to her feet. “I had that, Greene.”

“You had a taste of pavement.”

“Maybe so, but I didn’t use every weapon in the arsenal to do it.”

Alyssa prods her finger against Emma’s chest. “I used my resources. Besides, it’s not  _ every _ weapon. There’s the guns, and the knives, and zap cannons, and-”

Emma rolls her eyes and picks her helmet up off the ground. “Semantics. You and your damn semantics.”

Alyssa takes a small step closer. “Do you know what my  _ favorite _ weapon is, Nolan?”

“W-What?” Emma asks as she watches Alyssa’s hand as it brushes back curly dark hair.

“It’s-” Alyssa hesitates, glancing over as a few of their classmates head towards them. “It’s uh…”

She panics, and Emma is pretty sure she knows what’s about to happen a second before Alyssa takes a glowing dagger out of her pocket and stabs Emma in the chest with it.

* * *

“Is this what the whole year is going to be like?” Emma asks dryly as she walks into her dorm room. “I mean really, I think we need to come up with a better solution to our problems.”

“I’m sorry,” Alyssa soothes, locking the door behind them before setting her arms on Emma’s shoulders. “I panicked.”

“You panicked because you were going to say that your best weapon is flirting with me, weren’t you?”

Alyssa gives an embarrassed smile. “Maybe.”

Emma sighs. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.” She gives Alyssa a curious look. “Was I dead for the same amount of time both times?”

“I think so. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“Oh, gee, thanks.”

“I had to pay attention to whatever bullshit story Kaylee was telling me!” Alyssa says defensively.

Emma squints and leans in, pressing a quick, sharp kiss to Alyssa’s lips. “If I don’t get you back even  _ once _ this year, I’m quitting.”

“Honey, you can’t quit. Like literally, you can’t.”

“I know, but I really thought I had it that time,” Emma says, unable to prevent the whine from slipping into her voice as she pulls away and lies down on her bed. “It’s not your fault, I’m just frustrated that I can never get anything right.” She hums a soft tune absentmindedly as she closes her eyes.

Alyssa joins her, knees on either side of Emma’s body as she sits on Emma’s hips. She sets her hands gently at Emma’s waist as she says, “You do get things right. Just because it’s not the things they expect doesn’t mean… I don’t know, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure. You’re just different.”

Emma opens one eye. “Oh, so the closeted gay new kid who has no powers is  _ different? _ You don’t say.”

“You know what I mean,” Alyssa says with a roll of her eyes. She leans down and kisses Emma slowly. “And besides. You have to have powers. We all do. It’s kinda the point.”

“Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe they picked the wrong kid.”

“The lightning bolt hit you square in the chest. You can’t  _ be _ more sure.”

“Yeah, well… you never know,” Emma mutters, avoiding Alyssa’s gaze and playing with a loose thread in the comforter.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, we can talk about how everyone thinks we hate each other.”

Emma looks back up at her. “Huh?”

“Uh, well, it would seem that we tried a little  _ too _ hard to make everyone believe that we aren’t dating. Now they think we’re enemies.”

“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

“It might’ve been fueled by me saying that I stabbed you because you were annoying me.”

Emma gives a heavy sigh. “Lys…”

Alyssa winces. “I love you?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Emma tugs Alyssa down to hold her. “I’m not sure how you can be the God of Knowledge and still be this bad at improvising.”

“I think improv falls under Greg as the God of Theatre.”

“I guess that’s fair.”

Alyssa shifts a bit and kisses the corner of Emma’s mouth. “Hey,” she murmurs. “We’ll find out who you are, okay? I promise.”

“What if we never do? What if we’re supposed to graduate into our pantheon and I’m still just…” Emma trails off, waving a hand in the general vicinity of the rest of her body.

“I happen to like just…” Alyssa mimics her hand motion. “And if that’s all we end up knowing, then maybe that’s just how it’ll be. But we still have a whole year, Em. Don’t give up on yourself. Please?”

Emma nods. “Any bets on how many times Shelby tries to kill me during dueling class tomorrow?”

Alyssa pats her on the cheek and kisses her. “You’re a god. You’ll get over it.”


	2. Part Two

_ “Come on, Nolan, you can do better than that!” _

Emma gives a heavy sigh and sits up, glaring at the rock wall in front of her. “Anybody want to explain how this will have any practical application in my future? Because I really don’t think it will!”

She gets hit in the back of the head as Alyssa uses her shoulder for leverage to jump up and start higher on the wall.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, Nolan!” Alyssa yells down at her, grinning, not sounding sorry at all.

With a rush of competitive annoyance, Emma gets up and starts climbing again.

She catches up faster than she actually expected, and when she matches Alyssa’s pace she sees Alyssa give her a look that’s almost proud.

They reach the top at the same time, but, when they turn to start down the other side, Emma hears Alyssa mutter, “Good job, babe. And, sorry.”

“What are you so-”

Alyssa pulls Emma’s foot off the wall, the one she’s been using to keep her balance while she switches positions, and the sudden weight all thrown into her grip makes her slip and drop the fifty feet to the ground.

She groans and coughs as she sits up, bones stitching back together in her body. “What the fuck, Greene.”

Alyssa gets to the bottom of the wall and hops down, holding her hand out to help Emma to her feet.

“See, this is why everybody thinks you’re too soft, Greene,” Shelby says with a laugh as she walks over to them from the observation area. “You knock an idiot down and still help them back up even when you don’t like them.”

“Eh, I just consider it giving Nolan credit for actually tying me to the top in the first place. She still needs to learn to watch where she puts her feet.”

Emma brushes sand off of her uniform. “Yeah? Well maybe you should try racing me without wussing out on a fair fight, Greene.”

Alyssa leans in, eyes narrow. “What are you implying, Nolan?”

“I’m  _ implying _ nothing. I’m  _ saying _ that I would’ve beaten you down that wall any day.”

Alyssa’s jaw tightens, and she glances down at Emma’s lips. “Yeah? Well-”

Shelby rolls her eyes. “God, can you two just go to the dueling center and kill each other? The rest of us need to run this course sometime today.”

Emma looks Alyssa up and down. “You know what? Yeah. I think we should.”

“You don’t stand a chance, Nolan.”

“Oh, you’re on, Greene.”

They grab their equipment bags from the side of the training course and practically run out of the room.

* * *

“Seriously,” Emma pants as her back hits the wall, Alyssa’s lips at her throat. “I’m going to get you back one of these days if I have to seduce you into a dark corner and stab you.”

Alyssa laughs and nips at Emma’s pulse. “That’s cheating, Em.”

“I know, but you’re too smart and talented. I have to even the odds any way I can manage.” She flips their positions, pressing Alyssa against the door of the equipment room they’ve ducked into, hands wandering as she kisses her hard.

“Mm. Babe,” Alyssa mumbles into the kiss. “Baby.”

Emma moves to Alyssa’s throat and mutters, “Hm?”

“Do I seem soft to you?”

Emma pulls back, confused. “I… Sorry, in what context, because right now I’m a little-”

Alyssa sighs and gives her a quick kiss before clarifying. “Shelby said that everybody thinks I’m too soft. A god can’t be soft, Em. We have to be able to make tough decisions. Especially if I want to win this tournament at the end of the year.”

“Honey, you’re in the top three of every test we’ve ever had. You’re going to become the head of our pantheon. At this point, if you  _ don’t, _ everybody else is stupid.”

“It’s not a  _ vote, _ Emma. It’s a competition. I could lose if I’m not tough enough. You know that Nick is going to compete, and he’s the God of  _ War. _ Shelby’s the God of  _ Fire. _ There’s only so much that Knowledge can give me.”

Emma sets her hands on either side of Alyssa’s head, giving her a patient look. “Lys. Power isn’t everything. Haven’t you proven that by now? You’re going to be fine.”

Alyssa gives a strained laugh. “This coming from the woman who’s desperate to find her own power.” She flinches. “I’m sorry. That’s not fair.”

“It is fair. But I still have a point, don’t I? You’ve already proven yourself, Alyssa. Just because I’ve still got proving to do doesn’t take away from your accomplishments.”

“Hm. Maybe you’re the God of Pep Talks,” Alyssa murmurs, resting an arm on Emma’s shoulder and playing with the back of her hair.

Emma laughs. “If I was, I think I’d be better at giving one to myself.”

* * *

There’s a loud bang on Alyssa’s dorm room door at three in the morning, and it startles her awake. She rushes to pull clothes on, and, when she opens it, the God of Athletics is standing in the hallway.

“Alyssa, come on, a bunch of us are going out to the lake.”

She rubs at her eyes and sighs. “Kevin, I don’t want to go to the lake.”

“Trust me,” he says with a grin. “You really want to come to the lake.”

With another sigh, she puts on shoes and steps out her door. “If this is another ‘how far can I throw a rock while drunk’ competition between Nick and Shelby, I’m killing all of you.”

Kevin pauses. “No, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

* * *

When they get down to the lake, there’s already a small crowd gathered, and Alyssa immediately gets an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

It’s a feeling that turns to pure dread when she and Kevin get closer to the shore and find Nick calmly chatting with Kaylee while Emma lies on the ground next to them, head turned to an awkward angle, neck clearly snapped.

“Jesus Christ, guys, what the fuck are you doing?” Alyssa demands.

“Relax, she’s fine,” Shelby says, joining them and prodding at Emma’s shoulder. “She should wake up in a few seconds.”

There’s an uncomfortable  _ crack  _ as the bones realign, then Emma coughs loudly and opens her eyes. “Fuck,” she mutters. “What the hell?” She sits up and looks around, paling more than usual when she notices that she’s surrounded. She looks at Alyssa, visibly scared, and whispers, “What’s going on?”

“The rest of us have been arguing for hours,” Kaylee says. “We’re trying to figure out if us gods die for the same amount of time every single time, and whether that changes with repeated deaths.”

Emma swallows. “Okay…”

“So we decided that we’d test it,” Nick continues. “And obviously the best way to do it is to just kill you. Repeatedly.”

“Whoa, wait a minute.” Alyssa takes a step forward, her hands raised. “This is insane. I know we have a weird relationship with death around here, but this is really risky.”

“She’ll be fine.” Nick gives a nonchalant shrug. “And if she’s not, I mean, she’s not the god of anything, anyway. What does it matter?”

“Hold on.” Emma stands up and tries to back away, but she backs up right into the tree by the lake. “Just hold on a minute. I don’t want to do this.”

“I mean…” Nick looks around at the others. “Everybody else voted and said it was fine, so…”

“Guys-”

“Oh, grow up, Alyssa,” Kaylee interrupts. “She’ll probably be fine.”

“I just think-”

Alyssa’s words are cut off when Emma suddenly whistles, a sound so loud and sharp that it cancels out every other sound in the area. Everyone around her except for Alyssa covers their ears and drops to their knees, expressions twisted in pain, and one by one they all drop, either unconscious or dead.

The whistle stops, and Emma looks around, baffled.

Alyssa meets her gaze slowly. “Emma,” she whispers. “What the hell did you just do?”


	3. Part Three

Alyssa chases after Emma as she runs across campus, following her as she climbs the gate and drops down onto the sidewalk of the city of Edgewater. “Emma. Emma, please, where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” Emma admits, crossing the street and walking past the neon signs of the shops still open even this late. “I just… I need to get away from that place.”

“Em, just breathe for a second, you died and then you… I don’t know  _ what _ that was, but it was strong enough to kill half the gods in our pantheon, so you need to sit down before the residual energy sinks.”

“I’m fine.”

Alyssa catches up to her and grabs her hand, pulling her to a stop. “You’re  _ not. _ For fuck’s sake, Em, they were going to kill you.”

Emma shrugs, avoiding Alyssa’s gaze. “I’ve died plenty of times before.”

“This isn’t the same, and you know it.”

“Why not?”

Alyssa sets her hand on Emma’s shoulder, brushing her thumb lightly against Emma’s neck. “Because you shouldn’t be used as some guinea pig when those assholes get bored. You’re one of us, even if you’re new to our group and even if you don’t know what you’re the patron of. I don’t care if they don’t want to accept that. They’re going to have to. If I have to make that extra motivation for me to win the title of Head of the Pantheon, I’ll do it.”

“Lys,” Emma murmurs. “It’s not worth it.”

“Like hell it isn’t. I love you.”

Emma pauses. “That’s the first time you’ve said that seriously.”

Alyssa toys with the collar of Emma’s denim jacket. “I’ve always meant it. It’s just hard to say it when it’s not more of a quip.”

“Are you-” Emma breaks off, yawning. “Sorry, I-” She yawns again and frowns.

“Baby. Come on. Let me get you back to campus before you pass out in the middle of the street.”

“I-I don’t want to go back to my room,” Emma admits quietly.

“That’s okay.” Alyssa kisses her softly. “We’ll go to mine.”

* * *

They wake early, tangled together in their sleep, to a knock on Alyssa’s door.

Alyssa presses a gentle kiss to the back of Emma’s neck and murmurs, “Stay here.” She gets up and answers, keeping the door mostly closed as she squints out at one of her teachers. “Trent? What’s up?”

“Good morning, Alyssa.” Trent grins at her, far too awake for the time. “Have you seen Emma?”

“No.” Alyssa clears her throat and shifts her weight. “Should I have?”

“No, she’s just not in her room. Angie was hoping she could talk to you both.” His face gets as serious as it can be. “There was a bit of an incident last night, and we’d like your opinions on it.”

“Oh. Uhm. Well, I think I know where Emma might be, so I’ll grab her and go to Angie’s office.”

“Excellent! I’ll see the both of you later on, then.”

“Right. Have a nice day, Trent.” Alyssa closes the door and turns to Emma, who’s sitting up in bed with a blank look on her face. “There’s no reason to panic, right?”

Emma just laughs nervously.

* * *

As Emma and Alyssa sit across from Angie, they both fidget in their seats like scolded children in the principal’s office.

“So, last night, Trent was… how did he put it…” Angie picks up a piece of paper and reads from it. “Walking by the lake, pondering the chorus career he gave up to educate the youth.” She makes a face and shakes her head with a sigh. “Anyway, he was out by the lake, when he found something pretty peculiar. All of the gods in your pantheon, dead or out cold, except for the two of you.”

“Wow.” Alyssa exchanges a glance with Emma. “Do you have any idea what happened?”

Angie smiles slightly. “I was hoping you could tell me, Miss Greene, given that he also saw the two of you climbing the gate out of campus at the time.”

Emma winces and covers her eyes with her hand.

Alyssa clears her throat. “Ah.”

“You’re all still learning how to use your abilities. Unsupervised combat is-”

“Combat?” Emma snorts. “Is that what they’re saying it was? Because they dragged me out there to see what killing me on repeat would do.”

Angie pauses. “I haven’t spoken to them yet. I wanted to hear from you first.”

Emma swallows. “Oh.”

“If that’s what happened, Emma, I’ll clearly need to speak to them. You all may be gods, but you need some semblance of morality, too.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Emma mumbles.

“Yes, it is,” Alyssa says.

“Lys.”

“Em.”

They stare at each other, a silent conversation passing between them.

Angie clears her throat, looking almost amused. “Would anyone care to tell me  _ how _ two of you alone took out eighteen gods?”

Alyssa and Emma exchange another glance. “It was just me,” Emma admits quietly. “I-I’m not really sure how I did it. I just whistled, and everybody except for Alyssa collapsed.”

“A whistle? High-pitched?”

Alyssa shrugs. “I mean, yeah, it seemed to be. It was like it canceled out all the other sound around us.”

Angie’s eyes are bright as she grins at Emma. “So you know who you are now?”

Emma blinks. “Huh?”

“Oh, you must’ve figured it out.”

Emma and Alyssa just stare at her.

Angie laughs and leans back in her chair. She points at Alyssa. “I’ll let you put the pieces together. I know you can, God of Knowledge. You’re both dismissed.”

“But-”

“You’re dismissed.”

* * *

“What the hell was that about?” Alyssa grumbles as she paces in her room, biting her lip. “How am I supposed to just  _ figure it out?” _

“I think tormenting us is the only fun they have,” Emma says, sitting on Alyssa’s bed and tuning her guitar.

“Ugh, it’s been a thousand years, you’d think they’d have found better things to do when they’re bored by now.” Alyssa flops down on her bed as Emma starts to idly play. She closes her eyes, the tune washing over her, her whole body relaxing. “I don’t know how you do that,” she whispers.

“Do what?”

Alyssa turns her head and smiles up at Emma. “Whenever you play, no matter how tense I am, it’s like all the stress just eases out of me. You really are mag-  _ shit!” _ She scrambles to her feet, eyes wide.

Startled, Emma stops playing, setting her guitar down. “Uh, yeah, you look really relaxed, Greene.”

“The  _ whistle! _ It’s such a specific power, I don’t know how I didn’t think of it before.”

Emma snorts. “What, am I the God of  _ Sound? _ Come on, Lys.”

“No, Em, it wasn’t the  _ sound, _ it was the  _ pitch.” _ Alyssa gets back on the bed, taking the guitar and setting it on the floor, leaning it against her nightstand. “Emma,  _ think.” _

Emma just stares at her.

Alyssa gives an exasperated sigh. “Emma. You’re the God of  _ Music.” _


	4. Part Four

Emma sits on the edge of Alyssa’s bed, watching her pace. “What are you thinking about?”

“It’s driving me nuts. How did I not figure it out sooner?”

“Baby, I hate to break it to you, but we’re kind of dumb. You’ve killed me like fifty times and I’m still dating you. I think stupidity is a symptom of godhood.”

Alyssa gives her a tired look. “Please don’t.”

Emma reaches out and takes her hand, pulling her in close. “Alyssa. It’s okay.”

She starts humming softly as Alyssa says, “It’s _not._ What kind of God of Knowledge am I if I can’t figure out that my own girlfriend is the God of Music?” She closes her eyes, starting to relax. “It’s ridiculous. How can I lead anything if I can’t even control my own domain- Stop it.”

“Stop what?” Emma murmurs.

“You’ve known your domain for all of five minutes and you’re already using it against me. Stupid calming humming.” Alyssa climbs into Emma’s lap and grumbles, “Let me be mad.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Emma asks, amused.

“Well then I…” Alyssa sighs as the sound continues in combination with Emma’s touch lightly brushing up and down her spine. “Damn you,” she mutters, leaning forward and resting her head against Emma’s shoulder.

“Love you, too,” Emma whispers with a laugh as she holds Alyssa close and lies down.

* * *

Emma pauses in the middle of the hallway, her hand tightening into a fist as Shelby approaches her. “What do you want?”

Shelby holds her hands up as she stops. “Not a fight.” She lowers her hands and starts idly tossing a sphere of fire from one palm to the other. “I, uhm, I wanted to talk. To apologize, I guess, for me and for Kaylee.”

“I don’t see Kaylee,” Emma says quietly.

“Yeah… She… She’s a bit of an idiot, you know? She listens to Nick too much. I know she’s sorry, but she doesn’t know how to say it, and I know that’s not an excuse. But you deserve to know regardless.” The fire vanishes, and Shelby puts her hands in her pockets. “We get caught up in it. The power. The immortality. We forget what it’s like to feel normal, and since you weren’t called to us until fairly recently, we just… I think we forgot that you were still one of us.”

“I don’t want to be different. I don’t understand why I didn’t know that I’m a god until only a few months ago. It just is how it is.” Emma gives a soft sigh. “I don’t want trouble, Shelby. I just want to be a part of the group.”

“And you should be.” Shelby takes a hand out of her pocket and holds it out to Emma.

Emma hesitates before shaking it. “Your change in opinion wouldn’t have anything to do with me kicking all of your asses, would it?” she asks dryly.

Shelby laughs. “I’ll admit that it was a factor. It definitely jolted me into remembering what you are.”

“The God of Music.”

She raises an eyebrow. “You found your domain?”

Emma nods.

“Well. Good for you.”

“Thanks. I-” Emma breaks off when something smacks hard into the back of her shoulder. She turns her head, confused, and watches as Alyssa glances at her before continuing down the hallway.

“Ouch.” Shelby snorts. “For somebody who was so keen on defending you, Greene really does still hate you, huh?”

“Yeah. I guess it happens.”

“Good luck with that, Nolan.”

Emma gives a thin smile. “Thanks, Gonzales.”

* * *

Emma’s hands press against the cool metal of the storage closet as her lips trail down Alyssa’s throat. “Shelby still thinks you hate me.”

“Mm. Good,” Alyssa mumbles, grabbing Emma’s face in her hands and pulling her up to kiss her on the mouth. “I don’t really want to talk about Shelby.”

“Would you rather talk about the weather?” Emma teases.

“I’d rather not talk at all,” Alyssa replies with a grin. She unbuckles Emma’s belt as she kisses her again.

“Christ,” Emma gasps. “In here? Lys, we’ll-”

“We’ll be fast,” Alyssa says, unbuttoning Emma’s flannel shirt. “We’ll be fast. Fuck. Please, Em, I just want you.”

Emma hums softly and kisses her on the forehead. “Alyssa, what’s wrong?”

Alyssa grabs Emma by the waist of her jeans and spins them, shoving Emma up against the door. “Nothing’s wrong.” She starts unbuttoning her own shirt. “I just miss you when we’re out during the day. I know we planned this, but sometimes I… I just need to know we belong to each other even when the lights are on. Y’know?”

“We do, Alyssa,” Emma says softly. Instead of waiting for an answer, she pulls Alyssa back in, leaning against the door as they kiss more.

Alyssa puts her weight into the kiss, holding on to Emma’s clothes for purchase, desperately taking whatever she can get.

Emma holds her close, hands around her waist, just trying to keep up.

She feels the door shift behind her just a moment too late, and she tightens her grip on Alyssa as they both fall out of the storage closet, tumbling onto the floor in a heap.

Emma groans softly and blinks as she looks up at the people standing on either side of the door, as if they had been about to enter the room.

Shelby stares down at them for a long moment before looking up at Kaylee. “Holy _shit.”_


	5. Part Five

“This… can be explained…” Alyssa says slowly, her legs still tangled in Emma’s as she looks up at Kaylee.

Behind her, Shelby snorts. “Oh, I’ve  _ gotta _ hear this.”

“Well, you see, obviously…” Alyssa pauses, then looks down at Emma.

“Don’t look at me,” Emma says immediately. “I have no idea where you’re going to try to go with this. My belt’s half off.”

Alyssa closes her eyes and rubs at her forehead as Kaylee says, “Fuck, did you two hook up after what happened at the lake? I always kind of had a feeling the belligerent tension was actually belligerent  _ sexual  _ tension, but wow, Lys.”

Shelby folds her arms across her chest as Emma and Alyssa both wince. “Why do I get the impression that it’s more complicated than that?”

“Can this be discussed when we’re all standing?” Emma asks. “And when, like, I have the dignity of my shirt not hanging open.”

Shelby reaches down to help pull Emma to her feet. “You should be thankful. From what I can see, if we were a minute later, you’d have a lot less dignity right now.”

“Minute later for  _ what,  _ anyway?” Alyssa frowns, looking between Shelby and Kaylee as she starts buttoning up her own shirt. “What were you guys doing going into a storage closet?”

“Out of mops,” Shelby says.

“Needed a shovel,” Kaylee says at the same time.

Emma glances at Alyssa, who raises an eyebrow. “Well, either you two just murdered someone, or you’re lying your asses off just as badly as Alyssa tried to.”

“...Murder,” Kaylee picks hesitantly.

“Kaylee,” Shelby sighs.

“Okay, fine, we were going to make out.”

“I think we need to talk somewhere with alcohol,” Emma mutters.

* * *

“What I’m not sure I understand,” Shelby says as she accepts another beer, “is how you two got together before Emma even got to this school.”

“I leave school during breaks, and Emma lives in my town. We met. I found out she was like us at around the same time she did, and we started hanging out more frequently.” Alyssa shrugged. “After that, it was easy to fall in love.”

“I was hit by the searching lightning bolt as a child, the same way the rest of you were. But when I didn’t die, my father thought it was some sort of evil, some sort of black magic or something like that. He never reported it, refused to let me talk about it. When I met Alyssa, I got struck by a second bolt.” Emma gives a thin smile and takes Alyssa’s hand. “I was found again because of her.”

“You guys are cute,” Kaylee says softly. “I’m not sure how you manage to pretend like you hate each other.”

Alyssa’s smile shifts into a cocky grin. “We vent the aggressive tension in a variety of ways.”

Shelby grimaces. “Gross.”

“Yeah, because I’m sure you two kiss chastely in the storage closet and nothing more.”

Kaylee leans forward, smiling. “What’s the point of godly endurance if that’s all you use it for?”

Alyssa mirrors Kaylee’s smile. “Exactly.”

Emma and Shelby both just sigh.

* * *

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“Hm?” Alyssa looks up, her head resting on Emma’s shoulder. “I’m fine. Why?”

“You’ve been off lately. I don’t know. Tense, I guess.” Emma presses a kiss to her forehead. “More than just the tension over this competition.”

Alyssa is quiet for a long moment. “They were going to hurt you.”

Emma’s brow furrows, but she waits for Alyssa to continue.

“I was standing there, and I had  _ nothing. _ No plan, no weapon, no ideas. I was just… going to have to watch you die over and over and over again, and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it.”

“That’s not your fault, Lys,” Emma says softly, her arm going around Alyssa and holding her firmly. “It’s not.”

“It is, though. I should’ve had  _ something. _ I’m the fucking God of Knowledge, and I can’t figure out one argument to save the woman I love from being tortured?”

“It’s just death,” Emma murmurs. “It wouldn’t have been that bad.”

“You would’ve felt it.” Alyssa prods her in the stomach. “Don’t try to talk me into thinking that it  _ wasn’t that serious, _ you ass.” She gives a soft sigh. “I think I’m also just… The number of times we’ve killed each other. Like it’s some sort of game. We’re gods, Em. Shouldn’t we try to have more empathy, more morality, than that?”

“We’re also basically stupid children, as far as gods are concerned. I think venting some of the stupid sociopathic energy is the point of these exercises.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m serious!” Emma gives a soft laugh as Alyssa tries to shove her. “I’m not saying it’s  _ fun, _ but if we work out our dumbass learning curves on each other, aren’t we less likely to accidentally do something to a mortal?”

After a moment, Alyssa leans her head up and kisses Emma on the cheek. “You’re not supposed to be the smart one,” she teases.

“Oh, believe me, I’m not.”

Alyssa curls in against Emma and closes her eyes. “I just want to feel… I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

“What?”

“I still want to feel like a  _ person, _ Em. And I’m not sure I do.”

“You’ll always be a person,” Emma whispers, soothing, skimming her fingers up and down Alyssa’s back. “I know you, Lys. Can you trust me?”

Alyssa gives a small nod. “I’ll always trust you.”

They’re quiet for a long moment, until Emma says, “Recorders.”

“...What?”

“I’m the God of Music, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to play a stupid recorder.”

Alyssa laughs, her grip on Emma’s shirt tightening. “I love you.”

She sees a small smile form on Emma’s lips. “I love you, too.”

* * *

Emma pulls her t-shirt over her head as she hears a knock on her bedroom door. “Lys, can you get that?” she asks, picking up her belt and starting to slide it through her belt loops.

“Yeah, sure.” Alyssa opens the door, and Shelby rushes in.

“Thank fuck you’re both here,” Shelby says, out of breath.

“Good morning to you, too,” Alyssa mutters dryly.

“No time for that. They announced the competition.”

Alyssa’s eyes widen. “Shit. Are you-”

Shelby nods. “Me, you, and Nick are the top three in the pantheon.”

“That’s great, Alyssa,” Emma says. “You said you-”

“Wait,” Alyssa interrupts. “Who’s the fourth? There’s always four.”

Shelby pauses, looking nervous. She takes in a breath, then says, “Emma.”


	6. Part Six

Alyssa paces by the edge of the lake, staring at the ground.

“Honey. Can you talk to me? Please?” Emma sits near a tree, watching her with an unreadable expression on her face.

“I’m trying to think.”

“Lys,” Emma says quietly. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Alyssa pauses her frantic movements, giving Emma a startled look. “I never thought you did. Why would I…”

“It’s all you’ve wanted for a long time.” Emma shrugs and looks down, playing with the grass. “Maybe you’d think that I, I don’t know, was hiding something from you so I didn’t hurt your feelings. I don’t know.”

“I could probably see you doing  _ that _ . But I know you, Em. If you knew about this, you would’ve told me.” Alyssa puts her hands in her pockets and looks out over the lake. “And… it’s not  _ all _ I’ve wanted, you know.”

Emma gives a small nod. “What happens next?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve always said that this competition was about power. So what am I supposed to do? I’m not powerful, Lys. I’m not as fast as Shelby, or as strong as Nick, or as skilled as you. What the fuck am I supposed to do in this competition? Just go in there and get my ass kicked?”

“You’re not weak.” Alyssa crouches down in front of her, resting a hand on Emma’s knee. “You might not be better at one particular thing than one of us, but you’ve kept up with us all better than some people who have trained here for years. I mean, hell, look at what you did to all of them with just one whistle.”

“Yeah, but, I don’t know how to  _ do _ that. It just  _ happened.” _

“It was instinct. You can use that, baby, I know you can.”

Emma’s voice gets small. “And what happens if it ends up just the two of us?”

Alyssa swallows. “We’ll figure it out.” She gives a strained laugh. “We always have wanted to know what would happen in a pure one on one fight when we both had domains, right? Maybe this is our chance.”

Emma reaches out, her palm resting on Alyssa’s cheek. “I didn’t want this,” she whispers.

Alyssa kisses her wrist, then leans into the touch. “Neither did I.”

* * *

Emma knocks gently on the frame of Angie’s door. “Can I talk to you?”

Angie smiles and nods, folding her hands in front of her. “What’s up?”

Emma walks in and sits in the chair in front of Angie’s desk, sighing softly. She plays with her hands for a moment before sighing. “Why me?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s  _ no way _ I’m the fourth most powerful god in my pantheon. Why put me in the competition?”

Angie raises an eyebrow. “Miss Nolan, you might not win all of the little trials that we do, the training, but we’ve been assessing everyone’s power since the moment they got here. You’re  _ not _ the fourth most powerful god in your pantheon.”

“Then why-”

“You’re  _ first.” _

Emma stares at her. “I…” She blinks, her brain frozen. “I… Y… E-Excuse me?”

“I’ll admit that Music typically isn’t the strongest domain,” Angie says with a shrug, “but our assessments don’t lie. They don’t tell us anything about skill, or personality, or what a god will  _ do _ with their power, but as of yet they’ve never calculated level incorrectly.”

“But… But what…” Emma rubs at her face. “What am I supposed to do with that?”

“You can do whatever you’d like with it, Miss Nolan.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one I can give.” Angie folds her hands in front of her. “You belong in this competition. What you do with it is up to you.”

Emma sits back a bit in the chair. “What does that mean?” she asks softly.

“That’s up to you, too, kid.”

“Do you do this to every pantheon you deal with? Just give them vague instructions and set them loose on each other?”

Angie gives a slow grin. “It’s good for you.”

Emma groans quietly. “If you say so.”

* * *

“Emma? Emma.  _ Em!” _ Alyssa snaps her fingers in front of Emma’s face, getting her attention. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Emma gives a strained smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Alyssa’s eyes are soft as she zips up the outer layer of Emma’s uniform. “It’s going to be fine. We’ll be fine. We can do this.”

“I don’t know if I want to,” Emma admits. “But I know that if I don’t, I’ll be considered even less a part of this pantheon than the others already think.”

“Honey.” Alyssa tucks a strand of hair behind Emma’s ear. “You have nothing to prove to anyone.”

Emma swallows, glancing at Shelby talking to Kaylee on one side of the room and Nick doing pushups on the other. “I do,” she says quietly. “Even if it’s to myself, Lys, I do.”

Alyssa smiles as she grips the collar of Emma’s uniform and pulls her in, kissing her slowly. “Okay.” She gives a hesitant grin. “I’ll try not to kill you too hard.”

“Maybe you’ll be surprised.”

“Oh, is that a challenge I hear, Nolan?”

Emma rests her forehead against Alyssa’s. “You never know.”

Alyssa skims her hand up Emma’s arm and brushes her fingers against the back of her neck. “I-I love you.”

“We can’t die. No matter what happens, remember that, okay? I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.” Emma lifts her head and presses a kiss to Alyssa’s forehead. “I love you.”

Alyssa leans into the touch, her eyes closed, lingering for as long as she can. “Are you ready?” she asks finally.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“Well, then. Let’s get this over with.”


	7. Part Seven

Emma slams into the floor as she ducks out of the way of a flash of fire. She scrambles to hold on as she nearly slides off the edge of the circle, and she looks up in time to see Shelby, Alyssa, and Nick all in a swordfight.

She stands up, picking up two swords that are lying on the ground, and watches as Nick gets distracted away from Shelby in order to block one of Alyssa’s swings.

While he isn’t paying attention, Shelby pulls a dagger out of the back of her uniform’s belt and drives it into his chest.

Nick crumples, and Shelby shoves him out of the circle to get him out of the way. Emma winces as she hears him fall the two hundred feet from their perch and slam into the concrete below.

“This shit is going to hurt,” she mumbles as she walks back towards the fight.

* * *

“You’re better than I thought you were, Lys,” Shelby says with a laugh, parrying one of Alyssa’s swings. “Not that I thought you were  _ bad, _ but I sort of expected Nick to last longer than you.”

“I take offense to that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Shelby swipes towards Alyssa, her blade slashing a deep gash in her upper arm.

Alyssa flinches but strikes back, the tip of her sword jabbing hard against Shelby’s hip.

They clash, blade against blade, sword against sword, equally matched. The hilt of Shelby’s sword slams into Alyssa’s face, breaking her nose and knocking her to the ground, her own sword slipping out of her grip.

She has nothing to defend herself when Shelby lifts her sword to land a killing blow.

Before she can, Shelby falls backwards, clutching at her head as a high-pitched screeching sound vibrates through the room.

Alyssa glances behind her and sees Emma standing a few feet away, scraping the blades of two swords together in a way that’s making a splitting sound. She meets Emma’s gaze and Emma nods slowly.

She dives towards Shelby, hitting her near the waist and pushing her off of the circle.

Alyssa stands near the edge, catching her breath before she turns to face Emma.

“Well,” she says quietly. “Fuck.”

* * *

Emma walks towards Alyssa, the two swords hanging loosely at her sides.

“A part of me knew it would come down to this,” Alyssa whispers.

“It’s how it always works, isn’t it?” Emma spins one of the swords around in her grip and holds it out to Alyssa. “Come on, darling,” she says when Alyssa gives her a surprised look. “I want a fair fight here.”

Alyssa almost laughs as she takes the sword. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Maybe. But you know that I’m not going to kill you like that, Lys.”

“I know.” Alyssa pauses, her voice soft. “I’m not going to take it easy on you, Em. I can’t.”

Emma gives a small smile. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

Alyssa makes the first move, swinging her sword towards Emma’s leg. Emma deflects it and pushes the blade back towards Alyssa, nearly knocking her backwards off of the ledge. Emma reaches out and grabs her by the collar of her uniform, practically throwing her towards the center of the circle.

“Definitely wouldn’t want to win like that,” Emma says, almost joking.

Alyssa lets out a strained breath. “Yeah. Wouldn’t want that.”

They stare at each other for a long moment, then start to fight.

Emma is almost surprised to realize that, at least in this moment, she and Alyssa are even more equally matched in a fight than Alyssa and Shelby had been.

She feels herself start to hum quietly without even really thinking about it, and she redirects a swing that almost slashes into Alyssa’s shoulder as Alyssa wavers on her feet, blinking as if she’s starting to fall asleep.

Emma takes a few steps back. “Shit. I didn’t mean to do that.”

Alyssa staggers a bit, shaking her head as if trying to clear it. “How… How do you do that?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t try to.”

Alyssa gives a soft, sleepy laugh. “I told you. Instinct.”

Emma grabs Alyssa’s sword hand. “Good fight. But I knew how it was going to end before it even started.”

“...What…” Alyssa blinks. “What does that mean?”

Without even a slight hesitation, Emma twists Alyssa’s wrist upward and drives her sword right below Emma’s ribs.

The movement jolts the magic exhaustion out of Alyssa’s head.  _ “Emma!” _ She stares down at her hand, covered by Emma’s, holding a sword through Emma’s torso. “Fuck. Em, what did you do?”

“You’re supposed to win,” Emma says through gritted teeth. “You’re the one who wants it, Lys. It’s alright.”

“Emma-”

Emma pushes Alyssa’s hand backwards, removing the sword, and she lets out a pained groan as she drops to her knees.

She’s expecting to either die or feel the wound start to heal.

Neither one happens.

“Oh god,” she whispers. “Something’s wrong.”

Alyssa tosses her sword aside and kneels in front of her, taking Emma’s face in her hands. “Emma. Look at me. What’s happening?”

“I-I… I don’t…” Her vision blurs as she looks down at the gold blood staining her fingers. “Lys,” she mumbles before everything goes black.


	8. Part Eight

The moment Emma goes limp, the circular battlefield drops back down to level with the rest of the room.

Kaylee, checking on Shelby as she slowly returns to herself, looks up. “...Alyssa?”

Alyssa can feel tears of stress and fear streaming down her cheeks as she grips Emma’s uniform, her hands pressing firmly against the wound below her ribs. “Something’s wrong,” she chokes out. “Something’s wrong. She’s not healing.  _ She’s not healing.” _

She’s gently pushed aside as Trent joins her, his fingers going to Emma’s throat. “Pulse is still going,” he mumbles. “But weak.”

“What does that-”

“Alyssa, you have to move,” Angie says softly as she rushes up on the other side of Emma. “We’ll take care of her.”

“But… I-I don’t  _ understand,” _ Alyssa sobs.

“I know.” The alarm in Angie’s eyes does nothing to reassure. “It’ll be okay. Let us handle this.”

Alyssa is pushed back further, and she stares down at the blood staining her hands as Trent and Angie take Emma from the room.

“Greene.”

She barely turns her head as Shelby walks over to her, still a little out of it, Kaylee’s hand on her shoulder for support.

“You, uh…” Shelby pauses, hesitant. “You did it.”

“Emma did it,” Alyssa says quietly. “She just threw it away to make me happy.”

Kaylee tightens her grip on Shelby’s shoulder when she sways slightly. “She… must really love you,” she murmurs.

Alyssa swallows. “What good is that going to do her now?” With a small shake of her head, she turns and walks out of the room.

* * *

Alyssa leans against the wall outside the room where they’re keeping Emma.

A place like this doesn’t have need for a medical facility.

She’s not even sure what they’re doing to try to fix her.

After three hours of standing and waiting, her exhaustion finally catches up to her, and she sits down on the floor.

“You should rest, Alyssa,” Trent says as he steps out of the room.

“How’s Emma?”

“She’s in the right hands.” He leans against the wall. “You’ve had quite the day. Overexerting yourself won’t help you in your new role.”

“Does it even matter?” Alyssa sets her head back against the wall. “What kind of leader am I if I only win the competition because my girlfriend sacrifices herself for me?”

“Seems like you’re one who inspires loyalty. That’s not a terrible leader to be.”

“Loyalty? I don’t want the kind of loyalty that gets someone killed.”

“Kid, I don’t think Emma had any idea that anything was going to go wrong. She knew it would hurt, sure, but I think she just wanted to give you the victory. Reckless? Sure. But you’ve all died enough times that she wasn’t placing a foolish bet.”

Alyssa gives a small nod. “I love her, Trent,” she whispers. “If she doesn’t come out of this, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Trent leans down and pats her on the shoulder. “It’s bad, but I wouldn’t worry  _ too _ much. Emma’s the most powerful god in your pantheon. If anybody’s going to survive their immortality going out of whack, it’s her.”

After a long pause, Alyssa looks up at him. “Emma’s  _ what?” _

“The most…” He trails off. “You didn’t know?”

Alyssa silently shakes her head.

“...Oh.” Trent straightens. “Well, I should get back.”

“Wait, you can’t just-”

He hurries back into the room, leaving Alyssa in the hallway with her thoughts.

* * *

Light returns in stages, like a condensed sunrise in Emma’s view.

There’s a harsh, icy pain in the center of her chest, one that takes away her first conscious breath, and her eyes snap open in a panic.

“Relax,” Angie says, her voice soothing as she appears in Emma’s vision, her hands on either side of her face. “Don’t move.”

“Fuck,” Emma whimpers. “What’s happening?”

“We’ve been trying every healing combination we can find for hours now. You’ve been on the brink of real, permanent death. Your body isn’t healing itself from the wound you put in your chest.”

“Why?”

Angie looks troubled as she says, “I don’t know. You got other injuries in the fight, and every one of those healed normally.”

A shudder runs through Emma’s body, and she makes a soft whining sound. “Hurts,” she whispers.

“Oh, honey, I’m sure it does.” Angie gives her a small, sad look. “You know, when I said you could do whatever you wanted with this competition, I didn’t mean for you to get yourself nearly killed.”

“Wasn’t my intention, trust me.” Emma swallows as another shudder aches through her. “Please, I… Can I just… Can I have Alyssa?  _ Please?” _

After a moment of thinking, Angie nods. “Of course you can, honey.”

* * *

Emma comes out of a daze to the sound of Alyssa’s voice.

She opens her eyes and blinks up at Alyssa, standing at her head and looking down at her as her hands rest lightly against Emma’s cheeks.

“Hi,” Emma mumbles.

Alyssa swallows, clearly crying. “Hi.”

“Y’did it.”

“No. No,  _ you _ did it.”

“Lys. I wouldn’t’ve been happy. All I’ve wanted since I heard about this is t’be at your side. Not take it from you.”

“I would’ve been fine. I promise, I would’ve been fine.” Alyssa leans down and kisses Emma on the forehead.  _ “We _ would’ve been fine.”

Emma gives a soft smile. “I know. Still. S’better like this.”

“It would be better if you were okay.”

“Will be.” Emma sighs. “I’m better with you here.”

Alyssa brushes her thumb against Emma’s cheek, her voice soft. “And I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”


	9. Part Nine

Emma wakes to a dull ache in her chest and a pitch black room.

She tries to move and whimpers as pain splits through her, and, just like that, Alyssa fills her vision.

“Shh,” Alyssa murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to her brow. “It’s alright. You’re alright.”

“I can’t do this anymore,” Emma mumbles. “I can’t. I just want to go home.”

“Soon, darling. Just a little more time. You aren’t healed up just yet, but soon.”

“I’m sorry. You should be out there celebrating. You shouldn’t be in here with me.”

Alyssa shakes her head. “I don’t care. None of this matters until you’re with me.”

Emma gives a soft sigh. “I don’t understand how I managed to do this, Lys.”

“I don’t know, either.” Alyssa rests her head against Emma’s and feels her start to sink back into sleep. “But I promise. I’ll figure it out.”

* * *

Alyssa only leaves Emma’s room when Angie or Trent is there to check on her, and only to do basic things like take quick showers.

As she walks back towards the makeshift medical ward, Shelby falls into step beside her.

“Is it true?” Shelby asks quietly.

“Is what true?”

“There’s rumors going around that Emma’s the most powerful god in our pantheon.”

Alyssa sighs. “I don’t know. I think it might be.”

“Fuck, Lys. You know that some of the others aren’t going to take that well.”

“What about you?”

Shelby pauses. “I saw how she fought on that platform, at least before I was knocked out, and Kaylee told me about the rest. Let’s just say that if it’s true, I’m not sure it would surprise me.” She puts her hands in her pockets and shrugs. “I  _ am _ curious what it will mean now, though.”

“Now?”

“If something can almost kill the strongest of us, what does that mean for our pantheon? What even  _ did _ almost kill her? Alyssa, if we never figure it out, there’s going to be panic.”

“I know. I know that.” Alyssa bites her lip. “I’m working on it. I promise.”

“Well. If you need anything, Kaylee and I will help you out.”

Alyssa gives her a thin smile. “Talking for your girlfriend again, Gonzales?”

“She’s the one who offered. Don’t worry. She’s just busy trying to knock some sense into Nick, because he’s being an ass.”

“...Anything I should be worried about?”

Shelby pauses. “Not yet, but… It’s good for you to be with Emma right now, but you need to take over the pantheon. Soon, Lys. For all our sakes.” She glances at Alyssa out of the corner of her eye, her voice low. “Kaylee and I can only hold things together for so long, you know?”

Alyssa nods. “I understand. Thank you, Shelby.”

“I was third in our little match. This is my job. Don’t worry about it.” Shelby raises an eyebrow when she sees the confusion on Alyssa’s face. “Did you forget that the top four are all still the top four of the pantheon, the order is just decided by that match?”

“That would make Emma…”

“Well, she was going to be your second anyway given that you’ll probably marry her, but… yeah, Lys. She’s your lieutenant, provided she does pull herself out of this.”

“I’m not telling her until she’s better,” Alyssa says dryly. “That might kill her.”

Shelby snorts. “We have enough to deal with. Definitely wait.”

* * *

Emma is allowed to go back to her room a week after the competition.

She sits down on her bed, studying the thick bruise below her ribcage. “That still really fucking hurts,” she mumbles before gingerly pulling on a t-shirt.

“Yeah, I would guess so. You put a sword through your chest. You know, like a moron.”

Emma smiles and pulls Alyssa onto the bed with her. “I’m sorry for scaring you. I really thought it would be fine. I wanted you to have what you deserved.”

Alyssa closes her eyes and rests her head against Emma’s. “No more self-sacrificial bullshit, Nolan. I’ll kill you myself next time.”

“Noted.”

She feels Alyssa stiffen, then she jumps to her feet so suddenly that Emma falls over.

_ “That’s it! It’s so fucking obvious!” _

“Ow,” Emma mumbles, collapsed on the bed. She repositions herself and looks up at Alyssa. “What?”

Alyssa pulls a dagger out of her boot and puts it in Emma’s hand. Before Emma can ask what’s going on, Alyssa grabs Emma’s hand and directs the dagger to her own palm, slicing a small cut into it.

“What the  _ fuck _ are you doing?” Emma demands.

“Look,” Alyssa murmurs.

They stare at the gash, one so small it should heal quickly and easily.

Nothing happens.

Alyssa grabs a small towel from Emma’s dresser and wraps it around her hand as she talks. “Your hand was on my sword hand. You stabbed  _ yourself. _ I don’t know if there needs to be intent or if it only works if another god’s hand is on the weapon that’s redirected or what, but you nearly died because  _ I _ didn’t stab you.” She lifts her injured hand. “This isn’t healing normally, because  _ you _ didn’t cut it.”

“What does that mean?” Emma asks, confused.

“It means…” Alyssa pauses, thinking. “It means our only weaknesses are ourselves.”

Emma laughs.

“What?” Alyssa demands, squinting.

“Nothing. I’m just pretty sure that  _ my _ only weakness is  _ you.” _

Alyssa shudders. “It’s too soon to joke about that, Nolan.  _ Way _ too soon.”

Emma stands and carefully walks over to her, kissing her softly. “I’m sorry. Why don’t we get that hand of yours wrapped up, and then we can get some real sleep?”

Alyssa smiles and rests her forehead against Emma’s. “That sounds like an excellent plan.”


	10. Part Ten

Alyssa and Emma rejoin their pantheon side by side, Emma’s hand tight in Alyssa’s grip.

“I’m going to stand here,” Emma murmurs in her ear. “You’re the head now, Lys. Talk to them. Take your place.”

“You can come with me,” Alyssa says softly, a concerned furrow to her brow.

Emma smiles and shakes her head. “I know where I’m supposed to be.”

Alyssa swallows and lets Emma’s hand go reluctantly, then walks towards the front of the group. Her rapid, nervous heartbeat only calms when Emma falls into step beside her, taking a spot behind her and to her right. With far too many eyes on her, Alyssa just says, “Hi.”

Shelby stands and walks up to her, holding out her hand. “Good fight, God of Knowledge, Head of the Pantheon.”

“You as well, God of Fire,” Alyssa says as she shakes Shelby’s hand.

Shelby nods and heads back to her seat, shooting a glare at Nick when he doesn’t stand. She sits down next to Kaylee, putting her arm around the back of her chair.

Kaylee kicks Nick’s chair, hard. “I think you have something to say, too, don’t you?”

“Not to her.” Nick stares pointedly at the floor. “Why should I? She wins and then spends a week ignoring us. What kind of leader is that?”

“The woman she loves was  _ dying, _ you prick, what did you want her to do?”

Nick scoffs. “So, what, is she going to ignore her responsibilities any time Nolan does something reckless?”

“No,” Alyssa replies coldly. “And even if I did, the whole point of that fight was so that Shelby and you could handle something serious if I ever  _ did _ need to have time to myself. We’re gods, but we’re meant to keep our humanity, too.”

“Seems like Nolan went and kept a bit too much of it.”

“Excuse m-”

“If you have something to say,” Emma interrupts before Alyssa can take an angry step forward, “say it.”

Nick shrugs and leans back in his seat. “I just think it’s pretty pathetic that you’d claim yourself to be the most powerful god in our pantheon when you’re out getting yourself mortally injured.”

Emma takes a small step forward, falling in line with Alyssa. “I’ve never  _ claimed _ that. Trent and Angie say I am, and if that’s how it is, so be it. I wouldn’t consider myself superior for it. If you consider yourself superior because you’d prioritize an achievement over caring for someone, well, I think that says a lot more about you than it does about Alyssa.”

He stands, his hands clenched into fists. “I reject her victory.”

Alyssa takes a small step backwards, startled.

“I could force you, but that’s not the goal here,” Emma says idly. “We’re a team, Nick. We need to act like one. If you’re going to be part of this pantheon, you should try behaving like you are.”

“This pantheon needs a strong leader. Not the weakness of morality or humanity. We’re  _ gods. _ What part of that are you misunderstanding?”

Alyssa pauses, staring at him. “I’m sorry you feel that way.” She puts her hands in her pockets and turns to the others. “Any other objections?”

There’s a bit of mumbling, but no one says anything specific.

“Good. Then I think we’re done here.”

Nick frowns. “We’re definitely  _ not _ do-”

“We’re  _ done.” _ Alyssa gives him a hard stare. “I won. Whether you like it or not, I won. So take your place.”

He makes a soft huffing sound and starts to walk away, then turns on his heel and takes a swing at Emma.

Emma grabs his hand and pulls her dagger off of her belt all in one move, resting the glowing blade against his throat.

“The Head of the Pantheon said we were done here,” she says softly. “So let it go, God of War.”

Nick stares at her for a long moment before swallowing and backing up. With a small shake of his head, he turns and walks out of the room.

“If anybody has questions, feel free to bring them to me,” Alyssa says. “Otherwise, I’d say this meeting is over.”

As the other gods depart, Shelby and Kaylee walk up to her. “You’ll have to watch him,” Kaylee murmurs. “I don’t think he’s stupid enough to  _ seriously _ challenge you, but he might take a few cheap swings.”

“Nick’s all about being cheap,” Shelby jokes.

Kaylee rolls her eyes and tosses a small burst of air into Shelby’s face, knocking her backwards.

“Well, he  _ is,” _ Shelby insists grumpily.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Alyssa says with a grin.

Emma nods. “We both will.”

“Good.” Kaylee takes Shelby’s hand and squeezes it gently. “Come on. I have things to do.”

Shelby smirks as she’s pulled towards the door. “Am I ‘things’?”

“Only if you shut your stupid mouth.”

They both laugh, loud and helpless, as they disappear down the hallway.

Alyssa closes her eyes and sighs as Emma sets a hand on her shoulder. “You okay, Lys?”

“Yeah, I just… thought it would feel different, I guess. I thought it would feel more like I have control. Instead, I just feel like a kindergarten teacher.”

“I hate to break it to you, baby, but that’s kind of what you are.”

“A kindergarten teacher for gods. For eternity.” Alyssa takes in a deep breath. “Is it too late to let Nick do this?”

Emma laughs and takes her hand. “Yes.”

* * *

They sit against a tree by the lake, Alyssa’s head in Emma’s lap.

“What should we do now?” Alyssa murmurs. “Shit, Em, we’re nearly… We’re going to be a real pantheon soon. We only have another year of this training left, then it’s out to the world to try not to fuck it up.”

“We’ll be fine. We have each other.” Emma leans down and presses a kiss to Alyssa’s forehead.

“We’d  _ better _ have each other. If you stab yourself again…”

Emma smiles and shakes her head. “I learned my lesson, I promise.”

They sit silently, a gentle breeze brushing over them.

After about half an hour, Emma reaches into her bag. “I have something for you. I was going to give it to you after the competition, but things got a bit strange.”

“Mm. What is it?”

Emma pulls a rose out of her bag, a long black stem and glittering golden petals.

Alyssa’s breath catches in her throat. “A godblood rose? Where did you find that?”

“I asked Trent for a favor. He knew some people.” Emma brushes her thumb along the stem, carefully avoiding the thorns. “You know, the legends say that gods of ancient pantheons would use godblood roses to propose marriage to other immortals. It seemed more…  _ special _ to them than a ring.”

Alyssa sits up slowly. “So I’ve heard.”

Emma stares at the rose for a long moment, a faint blush on her cheeks. She lifts her gaze to meet Alyssa’s before holding the flower out to her. “Shall we follow their example, darling?”

Alyssa grins as the light of the setting sun hits the rose, making Emma’s eyes sparkle gold. She reaches out, setting her fingers on top of Emma’s. “You know,” she says softly, “I think we shall, my dear.”


End file.
